As we headed down a dirt path in our open
land rover looking for more animals to photograph, the radio suddenly
crackled to life with an incomprehensible mix of Afrikaans and local
tribal language. I was on my second game drive in the Sabi Sands Private
Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger Park. We had already had a good drive,
with excellent images of wildebeest, kudu and impala--some literally in
the front yard of the Nkorho Bush Lodge where I was staying - but the tone
of the person on the radio indicated something special was up.

When the message finished, Gowie, the ranger driving the vehicle,
turned to me with a big smile and said, "You want to go photograph a
leopard in a tree?" He knew the answer before he asked, and we were
off into the bushveld, as the land the animals roam in South Africa is
called, to where he had been told the big cat could be found.

I have not had many opportunities to photograph animals in the wild,
and capturing an image of a leopard in a tree was an unspoken dream. Now I
was on my way to do just that.

When we arrived there were two other land rovers already there. The
rule here is that no more than three can be at a sighting at any one time.
As we got closer, there the leopard was, straddling the tree limb like a
big housecat draped over the arm of a living room sofa, sleeping the way
all cats do. However, as I looked through the viewfinder, the poor light
had the leopard deep in shadow. The images would be OK, but not what I had
hoped.

Shortly,
the other vehicles departed and Gowie moved us closer to the tree - we
were less than 30 feet (10 meters) from the leopard. Suddenly, the sun
broke through, as the leopard decided that we at least deserved a look.
Raising her head in the mottled light caused by the branches above her,
she stared directly at us, giving me the image of which I had dreamed.

Gowie told me this female leopard had been given the name 'Seshuana' by
the native rangers, which means "little orphan girl," as her
mother had been killed when she was very young. As a result, she was a bit
small as leopards go. After a short time, to our delight, Seshuana decided
to move to a different location and came down from her perch.

She
was absolutely stunning; a truly gorgeous animal; but I would not want to
meet her outside of the vehicle. The animals have become used to the
vehicles and know they cause them no harm, so they are not bothered, but
one should never forget that they live and hunt here; we are just visiting
and outside of the vehicle, we're part of the food chain.

I snapped away as Seshuana walked through the velt, looking for a new
place to relax in the shade before the day's heat started to build.
Finally, she headed off into some really heavy velt where we could not
follow. Capturing her images was the perfect end to this particular game
drive.

Each of my four game drives had its special moments. The previous
evening's drive had been equally fascinating. Virtually as soon as we left
the camp, we encountered a small herd of huge African buffalo grazing
nearby. These massive animals did not seem to notice as I photographed
them at very close quarters.

A
bit further on we came upon a male lion lazing in the brush. We pulled
within six feet (2 meters) of him to let me get some good close-ups. Gowie
wondered aloud where his buddy was, as this male and another usually
travel together. At that instant, about 20 feet away, the other lion
raised his head. Since he was actually in better light, we drove over to
get his picture as well - then, jealous I suppose, the first lion came to
join the photo session.

Leaving the lions, we headed off in search of new adventure. Quite soon
we ran across a large herd of elephants, including babies, being led
through the velt by a big female. It had become overcast and they were
moving quite fast, so getting good shots proved difficult, but then the
real complication arose.

A
huge male elephant in 'must' (the term for sexual heat in elephants) was
trailing the herd of females. He was not pleased with our presence, and
showed it by uprooting trees and tossing them in our direction, as well as
engaging in the occasional mock charge. This clearly was no zoo!

To cap off the drive, we headed to where a young leopard had been
spotted in a small tree awaiting his mother's return. He was about six
months old, but the light had faded by this time and I could only get
shots of him with the help of the vehicle's spotlight. However, not a bad
drive, as we had seen four of the 'Big Five' animals everyone talks about
(we missed a rhinoceros) in one afternoon.

On the way back to Nkorho we stopped for the traditional 'sundowner'
cocktail in the bush. Freeman, our tracker, produced a table from nowhere,
and drinks were served. As I stood there enjoying my wine and savoring the
experience, Freeman came up to Gowie and told him he had spotted a snake
in a tree quite close to us - how, I have no idea. This was followed by
several minutes of the rest of us saying "I don't see it; do
you?" Finally, I did spot this smallish (3 foot or 80 cm), thin,
green snake entwined on a tree branch.

I
said "Oh, there he is; is he dangerous?" Gowie answered that if
he bit me I would have about two hours to get medical attention or I would
be dead. Amazing! We had watched an elephant tearing up trees to keep us
at bay just an hour before and probably the most deadly thing we
encountered was a relatively small green snake! This was Africa indeed!

At the lodge later that evening dinner was interrupted by the
incredible roar of a lion as he prowled the camp's parameter. The rangers
shined a spotlight on him and the nearby impala sounding their
characteristic predator warning. Nkorho has no fence; just electric wires
strung high to keep out elephants, who can be very destructive. They tell
you not to leave your room after they turn the lights out in the evening -
no kidding!

My
final two game drives in Sabi Sands yielded equally exciting and
photographically rewarding encounters with various game. Most notable were
an encounter with two relatively young male elephants, who came to check
us out--with one putting his trunk about six inches (15 cm) from the
unflappable Freeman, who was perched in a seat welded to the front fender
of the vehicle, to take a good 'sniff,' and another leopard encounter with
a big male lounging by the side of the road. Fantastic images of these
elephants and the leopard, but also of zebras, giraffes and the various
types of antelope made each and every drive an event to be remembered.

Prior to going to Sabi Sands, I had spent four days in the Kruger
National Park on a safari organized by Safari Rangers, who also booked me
into Nkorho as part of the same package. I had been picked up at my hotel
in Johannesburg bright and early one morning by Wilhelm, the driver and
guide from Safari Rangers. I had expected to tour in a minivan or even a
bus, but was delighted to find an SUV with just April and Anthony, a
delightful young couple from Tennessee, as the only others on the safari.
The four of us headed off on the five hour drive to Kruger.

Kruger is an immense National Park, stretching for over 200 miles (320
km) along South Africa's northeastern border with Mozambique. Visitors are
allowed to drive through the park on their own, so it is quite different
from Sabi Sands, where the land rovers can go cross country. Kruger's
rules are quite strict. You cannot leave the roads or your vehicle.
Apparently, a few years ago a Taiwanese visitor decided to get out of a
vehicle and pose with some lion; as the South Africans say, "He got
chomped!"

Despite having to stay on the roads, the game viewing in Kruger was
spectacular. Shortly after entering the park we saw our first game,
including some rhinos lazing in a mud hole and looking a bit like big
rocks. Further along, we noticed a number of vehicles pulled to the side
of the road and stopped to see what the attraction was. Wilhelm spotted a
rare wild dog in the grass not far from the vehicle and I started snapping
away. Then, amazingly, April, who was sitting behind me, looked down by
the side of the road and there, not 10 feet (3 meters) from us was a pack
of about six wild dogs sleeping in a group. The need to be very observant
to see wildlife became abundantly clear.

The
game viewing was excellent, and at dinner in Pretoriuskop Camp where we
stayed that night, we determined that we had seen fourteen different types
of mammals, numerous exotic birds, and a couple of crocodiles just that
day. During the four days in Kruger, we saw a total of 25 different
mammals, including a brief encounter with a rhino we surprised in the road
and of which I could only get a very quick image through the windshield of
the car before he had dashed into the velt. Yes, believe it or not, as big
as they are, rhinos can dash!

While the Kruger and Sabi Sands experiences were different, going to
Kruger first enabled me, with Wilhelm's help, to become better acquainted
with the wildlife at a more relaxed pace than was possible at Sabi Sands.
Similarly, the photographic opportunities were different, but rewarding,
each in its own special way.

Practical
InformationOn
safari, I think there are a few 'musts' for serious photographers.
Long lenses are essential.

I use Minolta equipment Maxxum/Dynax 9 & 7 and took a number
of images using my Minolta 500mm f8 reflex lens. I also used my
Sigma 70-200 mm f2.8 with a 2x teleconverter extensively.

The weather was often cloudy and I used Fuji Provia 400F film
almost exclusively and would suggest digital users set their ISO at
400 or higher.

I also found using a monopod to be extremely helpful as it gave
me flexibility as well as added stability in the vehicle, which is
essential for sharp digital or film images using long lenses.

When To Go As
my trip to South Africa was on business, I had no choice and visited
in their summer, which is the rainy season. It is hot and the
bushvelt is green and lush, making animal sightings more
difficult.

Many guidebooks advise visiting in winter (the Northern
Hemisphere's summer) when it is cooler and there is much less water
available, causing the animals to congregate around water holes and
making photography easier. As is probably clear from this article, I
do not know how I could have had better animal viewing, but I will
go back in the winter at some point to see.

I was extremely pleased with the organization, services and price
offered by Safari Rangers (www.safarirangers.com),
and Nkorho Bush Lodge (www.nkorho.com)
is, in a word, incredible - a true "Jewel of Africa".
There are, of course, many other excellent tour operators and camps
to be found on the internet.